A September Visit

I first encountered the Water Tower, on N Michigan Ave (Magnificent Mile), when we first stayed at the near-by Ritz Carlton. That was about 25-30 years ago. On this September trip, we were staying near-by, but at the Westin, a block, or so away. The Water Tower is really two buildings, on either side of N Michigan Ave, the Water Tower itself, with a small art gallery, and then the Chicago Avenue Pumping Station, much of which is now a Department of Tourism office, a small theater, the Looking Glass Theater Company. For me, the architecture is the primary draw, and it always has been, however, there is much history associated with the Water Tower - the second oldest remaining such tower in the USA. Even in the dull light of a cloudy September day, the structure is beautiful, reaching into the sky 185'. As much of this area has been rebuilt, with much more modern structures, the Water Tower is a throwback - a throwback to 1869. Visually, it almost seems out of place, but then maybe it’s the newer, much more modern structures, which are themselves, out of place? One positive effect that I encountered on this day, was that the light was soft, as too often, these two structures have some hard shadows cast upon them, by the taller, surrounding buildings. Besides walking around each of the buildings, I also got to gaze upon the Tower Building, from the restaurant, a few floor up in the Park Hyatt hotel - a view that I had never taken in before. I spent probably an hour and a half between both buildings, and would recommend that one budget at least an hour, to take both structures in, to their fullest fsyvvhijcs #themepark#zoo#nationalpark#lakes